Lydia Glenn

News Editor

lmg5921@psu.edu

In early April, it was announced that Penn State will launch the third University-wide survey of students to gain an understanding of their perceptions. Through the survey, students will also share their experiences and knowledge of resources related to sexual assault and sexual harassment. 

The survey is conducted to inform the Student Affairs Office of Research and Assessment about the goings on of students. The results will help them guide the university’s ongoing efforts to curb sexual misconduct. 

On April 4, the survey was sent to randomly selected students at all Penn State campuses. Approximately 15,000 undergraduates at University Park, along with 4,000 graduate and professional students and about 1,500 students at each of the larger Penn State campuses received a survey. At campuses with less students, the survey was emailed to all. 

Students who completed the survey were entered into a raffle to win a variety of gift cards. All student responses to the survey were anonymous and will remain that way. 

The survey asked students questions about their personal experiences, their perceptions, their knowledge of campus resources and the behavior of bystanders in relation to sexual misconduct and harassment. The survey is expected to provide insight into multiple areas including the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, how comfortable people feel reporting incidents and the role of alcohol in sexual misconduct. 

Penn State has been working with students, faculty and staff to gather feedback and make updates to the survey. Feedback on the 2018 survey was collected in 2021, and adequate changes were made to the survey. 

Some adjustments to the survey included: replacing the question about “biological sex” with a question about what anatomy is appropriate to the student; updating language around sexual orientation, gender identity and race identity; broadening some of the questions around harassment rather than specifying the harassment took place through electronic means; adding questions in the intimate partner/relationship violence section to include items aimed at identifying emotional abuse as well as physical violence; adding additional items related to the perception of timely warnings; adding additional items related to why a student did not report sexual misconduct to a non-confidential source; providing additional reminders throughput the survey to let students know they can take a break and complete at a later time; adding an open-ended response to gather anything missed by the survey; linking to additional resources at the beginning and end of the survey.

Results from this survey will be released in the fall of 2022. Additional analysis of the data and feedback will be looked at and responded similarly to previous years. 

The sexual misconduct climate survey came out of a task force that was convened more than three years ago. President Eric J. Barron endorsed 18 recommendations aimed at fighting sexual assault and misconduct on all Penn State campuses. 

The survey is to take place every three years to track the progress the University is making on sexual harassment and misconduct.